Riptide (Flipside Inaugural Program 2014)

Flipside Dance Company

RIPTIDE was Flipside’s Pilot project in Newcastle 2014, at the Playhouse Theatre in November 2014.

Students from across the Hunter, Central Coast and Greater Hunter collaborated with Professional contemporary choreographers and emerging visual designers from the University of Newcastle to create Riptide, a full length contemporary dance piece negotiating the terrain between dance, the environment, and choices facing young people and their responsibilities to and intimate relationships with the world around them.

Under the Direction of Cadi McCarthy, two dance ensembles were developed: Senior (13- 18) and Junior (10 – 13). The Senior students worked together over an intensive two week period with professional choreographers: Cadi McCarthy, Joshua Thompson and Marnie Polmares and the Juniors worked intensively for four days with Cadi McCarthy & Casey Horner.

The aim of RIPTIDE is to expose young people and emerging artists from Newcastle, the Central Coast and the Greater Hunter to contemporary collaborative artistic practices. Placing young artists at the centre of the artistic exploration and development: investigating concepts through improvisation, choreographic process, and performance is the most important goal of the program.

The project was supported by community partners: NSW Department of Education and Communities, Hunter Water, University of Newcastle and Flipside Dance Inc